Fraudster to get out of jail next week

A Bedford woman who was jailed for defrauding and stealing thousands of dollars from 13 different victims is getting out of prison.

Lesa Anne George, 49, will be released next week after serving two-thirds of her sentence.

George was sentenced in December 2011 to 25 months in jail in addition to the seven months she had spent in custody following her arrest. She had previously pleaded guilty to 37 fraud and theft-related charges.

She will be subjected to several conditions following her statutory release, including one that prevents her from being self-employed. In addition, George is barred from being in any paid or volunteer position where she would be responsible for managing finances or investments.

Other conditions prohibit her from possessing debit, credit or bank cards and cheques without prior permission of her parole supervisor. She must also provide regular financial information to the supervisor and report all sexual and non-sexual relationships.

The Parole Board of Canada said in its release order that “your history of fraudulent behaviours … have all played a role in your offence cycle. The board firmly believes that if these negative patterns of behaviour are not managed in the community, it could increase your level of risk to reoffend.”

George was denied both full and day parole last August, after a review panel said Correctional Service of Canada officials had advised them that her attitude, her ability to function in the community and personal emotional abilities needed major improvement.

The panel also noted she had been removed from an in-prison rehabilitation group twice, the second time because her case management team believed her “anger and resentment were precluding any progress, and program facilitators were concerned that you may have been negatively impacting other group participants.”

It also said Correctional Services believed that George did not have the ability to control her crime cycle.

George, who used a number of aliases, was also ordered to pay back about $55,000 to 11 of the victims as part of her sentence.

The agreed statement of facts showed that she defrauded, stole from or illegally used credits cards of a number of victims, including landlords, friends, a boarder, banks and employers.

George claimed she was a lawyer, successful business owner and a cancer survivor and that she was divorcing, just moving to the country or selling houses she was renting.